A Story About Us
by UnwrittenMemory
Summary: An AU-ish story based on a young group of friends struggling to get through school while the threat of war is ever-looming over their heads. Romance, friendships, and academics are slipping through the cracks as they just try and be normal teenagers. Riou along with other beloved characters in this Suikoden II Fanfic. The year is 459, just one year before the DUW.
1. Small Fish Big Pond

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Suikoden or any of the characters presented in this story. I do not own the world, setting, or any of the places. This story is purely for enjoyment and I am not receiving any monetary gain for it.

 _A Story About Us_ is a school-life story about a group of friends growing up in a place constantly in fear that it was their turn for war. It goes through the trials and tribulations of growing teenagers with feelings and relationships. This is an AU-ish Suikoden II. Harmonia and Highland Territories are at war, and not the Jowston Alliance although it follows the same time period. Setting in Greenhill, following a young girl, Elora from Harmonia moving to Greenhill City to get away from the war and continue her studies. Some modern aspects, some traditional. The year is 459. If anybody knows anything about Suikoden II, is that the Dunan Unification War begins in 460. I fully intend on that happening. Parts of my story is completely made up to fit my view for this story, so bear with me as I get everything situated. Some things wont make sense to you, but please read this as a fanfiction and not a "Wow, everything is so off here." Thank you.

 **Chapter 1** Small Fish; Big Pond

* * *

Being the new kid at school was never easy, but coming into high school as the new kid and as a sophomore brought on its own challenges and could prove to be especially difficult. Luckily for her, she was moving to a city that allied with hers (for now) and would at least have something in common with these other people. She was from a land far up north in the Harmonian Territory, a land she had lived her entire life and wasn't well acclimated to uprooting her whole self and moving far away from her friends and family. But that was Elora's reality. As Highland raged war on her home country, her parent's had no other choice but to ship her off to live with her Aunt Leona in Greenhill, a town that boasted it's academy.

"Elora, hun, are you ready?" Her Aunt Leona called from downstairs. "Honey, if you don't hurry, we will be late. Just remember, it's everyone's first day, don't be too nervous!" What her aunt failed to understand was that compared to Harmonia, this place was small enough to fit in the palms of whatever God rules this land.

Elora ran a comb quickly through her long brown hair, and tied it up in a ribbon, staring at herself in the mirror before letting out a sigh and heading down the stairs. "I know, Lea," She called from the top, "But, it's the second year in this school, and so everyone already has friends, and here I am not knowing anyone." Her aunt laughed as she stumbled down the stairs, slightly, catching herself before it became a fall.

"You have been here all summer, sweetie. You could have made a better effort at going and meeting new people." She stated as she headed for the door. "Is that what you are going to wear?" She asked, suggestively.

"What's wrong with it?" Elora looked at her clothes, wearing simply some jeans and a form fitting top, not really caring about first impressions. But, Elora knew she was right about getting out and meeting people, but she couldn't bring herself to acknowledge that she needed friends. They could never be what her friends were back home. She shrugged her shoulders and followed her Aunt out into the beautiful sunny morning.

"Nothing, honey. Just thought you would put a little more effort into your appearance today, but I think it suits you." Leona stated, giggling, which in turn made Elora let out a chuckle as well.

They walked the short distance to the academy from the Inn that Leona not only owned, but it was also where they called home. Elora stopped and looked at the flowers and greenery, which were very different from her homeland. "Do you have your schedule?" Questioned Leona, breaking Elora's trance on the differences between this new land, and the one many miles away from here.

"Yes I do." She replied respectively.

* * *

"Riou!" A young voice called to a dark haired boy at his locker. Riou could hear footsteps coming closer to him and he looked to the direction of the voice, smiling as he saw who it was coming to greet him.

"Hey, Futch. You're here early. For once." Riou shot him a grin. "Who's your homeroom this year?" He asked as the bell rang and shut his locker, tucking his loose paper into his binder.

He could tell Fucth wasn't happy with it because his playful attitude was switched with more of a pout. "I got Mr. Yamamoto. What about you, Ri?" He asked, shuffling his feet.

"Looks like I will see you there. A lot of us got him, so it shouldn't be too bad." Riou grinned again and patted his friend on the shoulder. "It will be a good year, I can feel it."

They were about five minutes early for class, and stood outside with the rest of their friends. Riou was relieved to see Kinnison, Nanami, and Millie all standing by the door. "Hey guys! Glad to see we are all in the same homeroom again." He hugged his sister Nanami, and although she is a year older than him, she got held back in elementary school. "You left the house early, sis, what's up? We usually walk to school together." She hugged him back tightly and patted his head.

"I just.. Had someone to meet with is all, can we make a rain-check for tomorrow?" She asked as their teacher began letting them into the classroom. He nodded, smiling.

"Hey, Riou. You signing up to race again this year?" Kinnison asked. Knowing full-well what Riou's answer was going to be. "We can make varsity this year, as long as you've got an egg?"

"Of course, man." Riou said. "I found one this summer, and Coach Humphery took a look at it. It should be ready by Fall. I'm actually pretty excited about it." He said, following Kinnison into the classroom and standing near the back with the rest of the students.

"Me too." Was all Kinnison said, thinking on his own plans to race.

* * *

Elora heard the bell ring and gave her aunt a quick hug. "I will meet you at the inn after school." She called after they gave their goodbye's and looked at her schedule for her first class. 'Room 409, Mr. Yamamoto, Homeroom' She read silently and trekked up the stairs into the large, multi-story building. "It sure is beautiful here." She whispered to no-one in particular.

"CLAANNGG~ CLAANNGG" The warning bell rang throughout the halls, and Elora quickly walked down the halls and, surprisingly, easily found her homeroom. According to her "Welcome to New Leaf Academy" brochure, the Homeroom is where everyone prepares for the schools upcoming events and parties as a class. They often hold contests per class to help boost energy of the students throughout the day. She wondered what the first event was going to be, Homeroom on the first day seemed kind of pointless to her.

She walked in, and for a moment, all eyes seemed to be on her. She knew this area was much smaller than hers, but even in a large academy, she guessed that they didn't get many new students. She stood at the back with the rest of them, waiting patiently for her name to be called. Elora de Fontaine, even her name made her stand out. Patience wasn't an aspect of life Elora quite had down, especially considering she was a zebra in the lions den. She began to get nervous, but the new attention was, thankfully, wearing off.

"Elora." Mr. Yamamoto called out after everyone else had been seated. She nodded her head up towards him. "Welcome to New Leaf, it is very refreshing to see new faces around here." He said, warmly. "Kinnison, will you raise your hand, please?" He pointed to a handsome boy in green and red. "Elora, you can sit with Kinnison and his group."

Elora went over and sat down, cheeks flushed. "Hi, everyone." She said, quietly. And they all bustled with excitement over her.

They all waved to her, and began introducing themselves. A pale girl in blue introduced herself first. She seemed to be bustling with energy, and looked like she came from a richer part of the neighborhood, which isn't much to say the least, it costs a fortune to come here. "Elora? My name is Millie. It's nice to meet you."

"And it seems like we were coerced into meeting, I'm Kinnison." Kinnison, she committed to memory. "That's Riou, over there and his sister Nanami in the pink." Kinnison said for them. "To their left is Futch, captain of the Riding Team."

"It's nice to meet you." They all said in unison. She could feel the boy, Riou, staring at her. She looked up to him smiling at her, his cheeks were red.

"Sorry about everyone." The boy who was staring at her said calmly. 'Riou, right? Is that his name?' "We have become so used to all of the students here, considering we rarely get new ones, so when someone new comes, everyone tends to get excited." He rubbed his hand on the back of his neck and gave a closed eyed smile towards her, and she smiled back.

"Okay class, settle down." The teacher began. "This year we have a lot of events to cover. If you think homeroom is simply a class to get last nights homework done in, we can talk with the counselor about getting you transferred." This guy is no joke. "These next couple of weeks are crucial in making sure that we all get into the back to school flow. And that starts with the Back to School festival, and dance. Our classroom got picked for choosing the themes of both. I'd like you all to brainstorm in your table groups to choose what you think would be the best theme." He closed, waving us off to work on our own. It seemed pretty busy here already for this being the first day.

"The festival is in three weeks." Nanami stated. "The dance is the following night. It should be fun." She giggled, recollecting last years' festival.

"Elora," Riou began. "Did your other school have festival's?" He asked, seemingly curious as to what her old school was like.

The brown eyed girl shook her head no. "My old school was very traditional. Go to school, go home and study." She stated matter-of-factly. "It wasn't very fun."

The group settled down, with minor chit-chat for the rest of homeroom until the bell rang. "Please hand in your group papers before leaving. Thank you." Mr. Yamamoto took the papers from each group as they walked out of the door.

Riou was waiting for Elora as she walked out behind the group. "Do you need help finding your next class?" He asked her sweetly.

"Ah, I have Ms. Apple? For history?" Elora said, holding up her class schedule.

"Me too! She's really nice. In fact, a lot of teachers here are." He said, and they began walking.

* * *

Elora sighed as the school day came to a close. She would have liked spending a little bit more time with her new group of friends, but she didn't have any classes with them during the later hours of the day. She put any of her unwanted papers and books into her locker, and began to close it. "Oh, shoot..." She said, opening it again, forgetting something.

Bang! She opened it a little too hard, hitting someone as they were walking by. She turned, fully ready to apologize. But the boy seemed disinterested in anything she had to say. "Watch where you are opening that, next time, will ya? Seriously the nerve of some people." A young man dressed in all red stood before her, holding his cheek as if she had done some serious damage.

"You saw me standing here, there is plenty of hallway space, you should have went around me, considering you would have run into me anyway." She stated and began to walk away.

"You worthless little..- Don't you know who you're talking to?" Elora shook her head and continued walking. _So much for getting through the day without any conflict_. She sighed and headed down the path, hoping tomorrow would be better.

* * *

And that's it for chapter one, please R&R and stay tuned for the next chapter. :3


	2. Friends

Thanks for reading the first chapter everyone, I've noticed that the Suikoden Fandom is a little dead, but I hope you all stick with me as I stick with you. Please read and review so I can get better in my writing and know that I am giving you all something that you actually want? Lol.

Onto **Chapter 2** ; Friends?!

* * *

Elora walked towards the school the next day earlier than the day before, wanting nothing more than to slip into class early and go unnoticed. Her heart beat a little more quickly than normal. Something wasn't right, and she knew it had to do with the young man she ran into yesterday and caused conflict with. She wasn't well aware of the customs of this land, and she shouldn't have spoken out of turn like that. ' _Curse my attitude_ ' She thought to herself, making a mental note to work on it, even though her mental notes never really got her anywhere.

She turned the corner from Leona's place, muffin in hand, when she stopped almost dead in her tracks. There stood Kinnison and Riou arguing with a group of older boys. Upon closer inspection, there was the boy she had hit with her locker door, standing on the opposing side. She would have walked a different route, if she knew of one, but she didn't and took a deep breath. She walked towards them.

"Look, we told you already," Riou stated as Elora got closer to the group, close enough to make out what they were saying. "We don't have it, and we know she doesn't either." He said, using his arms in gesture in front of him.

"Seed and I saw your little friend take it yesterday, Riou." The big man sneered almost cutting the boy in yellow off. He wore a royal blue outfit, and the term royal wasn't just being used to describe a color. Something seemed familiar about him, Elora couldn't quite place her finger on it.

"Hey, Riou... Kinnison." Elora peeped from behind them, causing them to turn their backs for a moment.

"That's her!" The boy from yesterday piped in, pointing at Elora. Riou and Kinnison stood in front of her, protecting her almost.

"And we said, that there isn't any way for her to have taken it, we were with her all day." Kinnison dead-panned, even though it wasn't necessarily true.

"What is it exactly that I'm being accused of?" Elora chimed against the larger group of five or six, curious to know what they were saying.

"Elora," Riou began. "Luca is missing a ring, he is the big brute over there in blue, and Seed said that you have it. Have you seen it?"

"Was it not on his person? This is my first time laying eyes on him." She stated matter-of-factly, shrugging her shoulder. ' _Boy, am I glad I got a head-start on the morning_.' She thought to herself. ' _Is this because of what happened yesterday...?'_

"My father won't like this, Riou. You can count on that." Luca scoffed, letting out a loud chuckle before motioning his gang to head out. Riou only rolled his eyes at Luca, not seeming to care at all what he thought.

The trio watched them disappear before trudging towards the school themselves. "Why is that ring so important and why are they such jerks?" She asked quietly, jer eyes narrowing at the group in the distance. Although she was grateful to have already met such good people to have stood up for her like that.

"Do you know who those boys are, Elora?" Kinnison asked curiously, turning towards her, their walking stopped at a halt. The girl shook her head no, eyebrows furrowed.

Riou and Kinnison gave each other understanding glances.

"Ah, so that is why the incident that happened yesterday came so natural for you." He chuckled in a relieved manner, "I am glad you aren't easily frightened by creepy guys. Look, they are a group that transferred here from Highland a few years back, third years. The big guy, Luca, is the Prince. King Agares' son. Elora, promise me, that no matter what you do, you stay away from them, got it?" Kinnison finished, wrapping his arm around her shoulders. "We heard about what happened after school yesterday, just stick with us, okay?"

She nodded, her head jerked back, shocked. ' _So that's why he looked so familiar...'_ She was deep in thought. It seems as though she had already made enemies, and she didn't like where that was headed. "I won't..." She shook her head, turning it towards the school. "They don't seem like the type of people that would make good friends, anyhow." She stated, making Riou laugh.

"No, not in the slightest." He said, shaking his head. "You're a good girl, Elora, so just be careful. We won't let anything happen to you." He smiled at her, and the little group of friends began walking again.

 _'How does he know that I'm a good girl? We just met and I don't know anything about these guys. I mean, we a have a few classes together... But does that make us friends? Then again, they were so willing to stand up for me, against the Prince of Highland at that... What is with this group of kids?'_

* * *

The students all fell to their seats as the final bell rang. "Alright class, I have tallied up the results from yesterdays' assignment, and it looks like everyone chose the Firefly Festival to start out the year with a bang. We were chosen to run the food stand, so everyone brainstorm on which products your group would like to bring in. Remember to keep it healthy." Mr. Yamamoto finished, letting the students off of his reigns and into discussion.

"Yay! The Firefly Festival is always so fun." Cheered Millie and Nanami in unison, only happy because as a formal festival they all get to wear their kimono's.

"It's great that what we chose got picked, for once." Futch chimed in, giving Kinnison a high five.

"Hey, has anyone thought about who they were bringing to the festival and homecoming?" Nanami asked, reminding the group of the other side of going to festivals and bringing the tone down to a more serious level.

"I've already asked Kasumi! She said yes!" Futch roared, a little loudly. Everyone shared with him their congratulations.

Kinnison and Riou shook their heads, and Nanami sighed. "Look, little brother, give it up... She isn't worth your time. Same goes to you, Kin."

Elora looked up confused, and Millie spoke up. "Both were in pretty serious relationships, but they didn't last past the summer. Kinnison and Ayda, although new, dated for the better part of Freshman year. And Riou and Eilie have been off and on for as long as we can remember. Although, each of the girls are in a new relationship." Millie stated, making a gagging notion, hinting that she didn't approve of their new men, for the newest member of their group, looking rather proud of herself. Nanami shot her a glare, and she immediately shut up, mouthing an apology for the eldest member.

Elora sat silently for a moment, reading the two faces. Both boys looked as if they had been through a lot, and she could tell their hearts were on the mend.

"You're right Nanami, we need to move on." Riou sighed, not really knowing the true affect of his words. "What about you and Klaus?" He asked, completely jealous of their seemingly perfect relationship.

"He asked me yesterday after finding out about it. Of course I said yes." She smiled, blushing. It seemed so perfect, everyone else at the table began to blush as well.

"Well, I'm going solo." Millie raised her hand. "I just haven't found the right guy yet."

"You mean the right guy your age?" Kinnison laughed, and Millie chucked her pencil at him.

"No, that isn't what I meant." She winked.

Elora stayed quiet through all the banter. 'It is far too early in the year to be thinking about anything other than my schoolwork.' She thought, making the plan to not even go.

"Maybe those of use without dates can go as a group?" Millie addressed the other solo-ers, Riou, Kinnison- "How about it, Elora? Being new here you probably don't have a date, right?" Millie asked, not trying to be rude.

 _'Well there goes my plans of not going. I don't want to shut them out after they've all bee so nice to me.'_ She could feel the stares from her fellow group-mates.

"I think that's an awesome idea, Millie." Riou said. "Elora, how about we all meet up after school one of these days and shop for a dress?" He asked kindly.

She shook her head, embarrassed. "N-No I don't think so."

Kinnison simply looked at her, "You're going, and there isn't a way out." He smiled, massaging her shoulder gently. And she groaned.

* * *

The final bell rang, and Kinnison walked Elora to her locker. "So, what do you do for fun?" He asked her, after listening to her stories of her homeland. "Have you gotten out and around town yet? It's pretty busy around here most of the time."

"I think I have had my fill of bustling after this morning's events." Elora shot back to him, sighing as they reached their destination. "Besides, I have to help my aunt at the inn, I don't really have time between my studies and work to have gotten out much." Kinnison studied her face. Round and soft, her features were perfectly different than anyone else he knew. 'It doesn't help that she has a killer body.' He thought to himself, fighting the urge to become attached.

"Oh, yeah?" He asked her. "So, your aunt is Leona, huh?" He smiled at her shock.

"You know her?" She questioned, confused.

He let out a small chuckle. "Long ago, we were in a war ourselves. Leona took us all in, and helped us escape the cities that were burned. She is kind of a hero to us. Although, she's retired now." He said, quietly, remembering back to his elementary youth. "All of us students know her... You know..." He began a new thought, "If you took the chance to really study, and question the world around you, you might just learn a few things." He winked at her and smiled, ruffling her hair.

"Hey, Kinnison." She called out to him, quietly. "Would you like to come over for dinner tonight?" She asked before thinking. And he just looked at her, running his fingers through his fluffy dark brown hair, looked into her chocolate eyes and nodded with only a simple smile.

"Yeah," He replied. "Let's do it."

* * *

And, that's it for this chapter. I want to make a love interest for Elora, but I don't know if it will be Kinnison or Riou, we will see as the story plays out. Please R&R, and stay tuned for the nest chapter. Peace, love, and pixie dust.


	3. Similarities

**A/N:** Hey everyone, sorry it has taken me so long to get this next chapter out to you, it's been written in my notebook for forever, just haven't had the time to sit down and type it out. It has come to my attention that the majority of people come here looking for Suikoden remakes or retellings, whereas I mostly write AUs, or this written in another time-period, and that's fine. I know my story isn't what everyone else wants, but I am writing what I want. The beginning events for the Dunan Unification War are different in my story, but, I definitely plan to write that into this. :) I hope you all read and review! And onto the next chapter.

 **Chapter 3;** _Similarities_

* * *

"Ouch!" Elora cried out as the group of girls tugged her along and into the store. The dance was now only a week away, and despite her many efforts and disputes about going, here she stood in the dress store. Kinnison practically forced his wallet down her throat offering to pay for the dress,and in usualy Kinnison fashion he didn't take no for an answer. 'Make sure you pick out something nice!' She recalled him saying in her head when he came over after the second day of school.

"The dance is really going to be a lot of fun." A young girl dressed in red stated.

"Only because you get to go with Futch, Kasumi!" Millie called dreamily to her friend. "To those of us that don't have dates," She linked arms with Elora. "I'm not sure how fun it's going to be."

Elora interjected. "Kinnison asked me to dance with him though." She said. "A couple of weeks ago..." Millie smiled, clasping gently onto Elora's hand. "Must just be something about you, Kinnison is usually never that forward."

 _'It was always her...'_

* * *

 _Flashback-_

 _"It's been a long time since I have seen that handsome face." Leona stated emotionally, pulling the boy into a long and warm hug. "You have grown so tall." She said. Leona stood tall, for the average woman her age, and yet the boy towered over her and Elora both. She pulled him back, and put a hand on his shoulder, him flashing her his bright white smile._

 _"Ten years and you haven't aged, Leona." With one of his free hands, he pulled Elora to his side by her waist, slightly startling the girl. "Thank you for taking my friend in. She already brings a lot of life to the group." Leona smiled at that towards him, her brother would have been happy to hear that the young boys and girls they looked after and helped escape from their home villages, Toto and Ryube, so long ago were now friends with his daughter again after so many years._

 _"Come now, Elora.. Kinnison." She gestured towards the kitchen. "We all have a lot to catch up on." She began walking down the hallway into the inns small kitchen._

 _"You know..." Elora whispered after a moment, poking Kinnison on his side, noticing his hand still at her waist even as they walked. He twitched a bit. "You, kind of look familiar." She stated after a long pause. They had reached their destination and Elora pulled away from Kinnison's hand and sat at the chair opposite of him, taking note of the carefully prepared table. She stared at a painting on the wall to her right,. It was a painting of a large group of kids in a war-turned backdrop. "Not only that, but your whole presense feels familiar as well. I can't pinpoint it."_

 _Kinnison stayed silent, but followed her gaze towards the painting. While they all look so different now, he remembers that day vividly. There in the painting stood Riou, Millie, Eilie, Bolgan, and Rina, Futch, with Humphery standing protectively behind him, Nanami... Jowy. He stared at the top left corner, there was a man dressed head to toe in armor holding a little girl in his arm. He knew right away who the little girl was. He sat there, sadly looking at the picture. The man was none other than Georg Prime, Leona's brother. He was kidnapped soon after this picture was taken, and no one has heard from him in well over nine years._

 _"Elora," Kinnison began, ignoring her attempts to recall where she knew him from. "Your last name.. It's strange isn't it? Different from around here. Is that a Harmonian name?" He asked._

 _Leona could hear them in the kitchen, her heart sank. She cursed herself for being blinded by the fact the Kinnison was always perceptive._ 'So, he knows.'

 _"de Fontaine?" She asked curiously and he nodded. "Yeah, I guess it is. I don't really know. It isn't the last name of my father, who I don't know to well. He left us when I was little. I don't even know his name, let alone much from that time."_

 _Kinnison sat quietly, mulling everything over in his head._ 'Everything must have been so traumatic for her, she hid all of her memories.'

 _"Hey." He said finally. "Feeling like you know me isn't a bad thing. I guess the feeling is mutual" He told her, recalling vividly how her mother acted when they left._

'She has been through so much already, if she were to ever come back here, pretend like this mess never happened. She is already regressing in her memories, don't make it harder for her.' _The voice of her mother stood clearly in his head, even after all this time.  
_

 _She just laughed. "A little late, aren't we." She winked at him, and he just shrugged, wanting so bad to tell her about the time when they were young. She was his best friend.  
_

 _"Another question for you though."He said, nonchalantly. "I know we are supposed to be going to the dance as a group. But would you mind saving the first dance for me?"_

 _She smiled, mischieviously and threw her dinner roll at him. "And why would I do that?"_

* * *

Elora looked up at the beautiful dresses hanging against the wall and then looked down at her slightly ripped jeans and oversized t-shirt, still being tugged around by Millie.

"I don't think any of these were really made for someone like me." Elora blurted to the girl, who paid her no mind.

"Nonsense. You have a killer body underneath that, and we have to show it off!" Millie grabbed dress after dress and put her into the fitting room, throwing the dresses over the top. "Okay try them on! And I want to see each one."

Millie wanted to look out for Elora, who was kind of shy and polite. But definitely could hold her own. Still, Millie really took a liking to this girl, and after their history together, she couldn't help but want to be her friend. Even though she knew what might happen if she remembered...

Elora came out with her first dress on. Millie gasped in amazement.

"Why don't you dress like this more often!?"

* * *

Alright guys, that's it, sorry for cutting the chapter a little short. But, there is only going to be one more "fluff" chapter after this before things begin to get a little crazy. There is going to be a bit of a time-skip, so be prepared for that and they are going to find themselves in the midst of something they don't really want to be in. Enjoy, and please R&R!


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